BINDOW VS FINTIRI: GOV MAKES U-TURN ABOUT ELECTION PETITION TRIBUNAL

Jibrilla Bindow, the incumbent Governor of Adamawa State, has at last approached the Adamawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in a move to overturn results of the governorship election in the state.

Bindow rescinded his earlier congratulatory message to Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, the Governor-Elect, and instituted a legal action challenging the latter’s victory at the polls.

In a statewide broadcast on March 29, Bindow had congratulated Fintiri on his election as Governor-Elect after Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said he polled 336,386 votes compared to Fintiri’s 376,552.

However, the latest twist is that Bindow is asking for an order of the tribunal to either declare him the winner of the governorship election or order a fresh conduct of the polls in the state. He premised his argument on the claim that results from seven Local Government Areas were marred with various electoral irregularities.

Umar Duhu, former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice chairman (Northeast), who is an ally of the Governor, announced Bindow’s position in Yola on Tuesday.

“Yes, the Governor congratulated the PDP candidate, but new facts at our disposal signal otherwise about our purported loss,” he said.

“There was over-voting in almost all the seven local governments, according to facts obtained from (INEC) records. We strongly believe that there were massive irregularities in those local governments, and I can assert that by the time the issues are properly determined we’ll reclaim our mandate.”

He attributed some of the party’s ordeal to some members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s immediate family, alleging thus: “Some members of Mr. President’s family are romancing with the opposition here in the state.

“I can tell you that the so-called town hall meeting by the wife the President was all about conferring legitimacy on the so-called victory of the PDP Governorship Candidate.”

Duhu further berated the Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO) for “undermining the unity of the APC as revealed in the proposed list of prospective appointees forwarded to the President for consideration into the new federal cabinet”.

“From what we have learnt, all the 20 names presented to the President for consideration as ministers or other aides are people drawn from the defunct CPC bloc; and I think it is dangerous,” he said.

“I therefore make bold to assert again that if Mr. President allows the trend, it will destroy the APC. We all labored to wrest power, therefore we should all be carried along.”